My No Till Experience

Semisane

Active Member
Last Fall I took my first shot at the "no till" method on three small plots of 1/4 acre, 1/3 acre, and 1/3 acre. Results were the same on all three plots.

Here's how one progressed, documented in pictures. I'll never disc or till a plot again.





















END JULY UPDATE:





 
This post could be the "poster child" for the importance of an exclusion cage.

great job
todd
 
I am getting ready to do a throw and mow over on our other property. I haven't even sprayed it yet because I am really behind...lots to do this weekend!
 
I'm trying this, this year. We just mowed a pipeline that was 5 ft. Tall and taller in some places.

Though I'm only planting clovers, chicory, and possibly some grains, I'm worried the thatch will be too thick.

Haven't seeded yet. The field is under a ft tall now. Hoping to spray this weekend, wait 2 weeks then seed and spray again.

Can I wait longer to spray, or would I have to mow again?

Can there be too much thatch, or will the seed eventually make it to the soil?
 
Great info and pics i plan on trying to post and follow a no till plot and share how it works for me this season
 
No till throw n mow plots are absolutely dependent on good timely rainfall... difference between making you look like a hero or a zero...

I haven't put any out yet because we are in a several 100 degree days in a row with no rain in sight situation and the ground is baked rock hard...This may be a zero year for me...
 

I'm certainly not an expert with this method, but I think you are setting yourself up for failure. You are supposed to spread the seed BEFORE you mow, not after. If the thatch is real thick you are going to have a hard time getting good seed/soil contact.
 
I'm certainly not an expert with this method, but I think you are setting yourself up for failure. You are supposed to spread the seed BEFORE you mow, not after. If the thatch is real thick you are going to have a hard time getting good seed/soil contact.
I agree. If you can safely burn the thatch, that's what I'd do. Then broadcast seed before a good rain.
 
Throw and grow is all I ever do. I really enjoyed the time sequence, exclusion cage and documented growth and deer use.
 
This is an excellent thread. Can someone educate me on no till and throw and mow techniques? I've only disked. Are we saying that you just throw the seed on untilled soil and it grows and all you do is mow when needed? If so why am I doing all this disking??
 
A down & dirty explanation: Spray your plot with glyphosate - broadcast seed and fertilizer into standing dead vegetation - mow dead vegetation to cover seed with thatch (or flatten the thatch over the seed with a roller or drag) - pray for rain - watch it grow - shoot deer.

Check out the many YouTube videos on the no till method. Here's a good place to start:
 
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